An interview with Catherine Murdock, author of Dairy Queen, as part of the September 2007 GLBT Month.

Do people really answer that? I couldn’t list the TEN books or authors that influenced me the most. The FIFTY. Now that I dwell on it, however, the biggest influence on my writing has been the years I spent studying screenwriting. Unsuccessfully, I may add, but it did teach me tons about characters and plotting and dialog. That’s what I turn to first when I’m looking for inspiration or structure.

If you weren't an author, what would you be?

An unpublished author? Or teaching college, which I hate to say isn’t nearly as satisfying.

Has a fan's story ever touched you as much as your stories have touched them?

I adore hearing from “fans” – I think of them as enthusiastic readers, but I suppose they’re fans. I’m not sure their stories have touched me QUITE as much, if only because their letters aren’t 270 pages long (nor do they need to be!). But I do feel that I’m making a difference, a positive difference, in kids’ lives, and that’s a wonderful feeling.

Do you have any advice for young GLBT writers? Teen writers in general?

I have an entire page of advice on my website for teen writers. It applies – or doesn’t apply, which might be more likely – to GLBT writers as well. Learn to listen to advice. Read a ton. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get published immediately – my first novel came out when I was 39. Be patient, and enjoy life.

Early GLBT YA books were often categorized as "problem" novels and primarily featured characters that were white. Today's books feature many minorities and, in many ways, can be looked at as more "mainstream". What do you think will happen in GLBT lit in the next five to ten years?

Hopefully, it will become even more mainstreamed. It was very important to me that Amber not be the “problem” in Dairy Queen. She had issues, yes, but so did everyone else in the book. Her sexual orientation wasn’t a crisis, it was just part of life. That’s the take I much prefer to see.

Many straight teens devour and enjoy GLBT YA lit just as much as the GLBT teens it is ostensibly targeted towards. As an author, has this surprised you? What do you think it means for our future and the future of today's GLBT teens?

Um, that they’re normal? (See previous question.) I’ve never been happy with labels on books: “this is a sports story,” “this is a chick story,” blah blah blah. If it’s a good story, it should transcend all labels and genres. It should be universal.

Is there anything you wish I'd asked? If so, what is it...and what would your answer be?

I can’t think of how to phrase the question, but I would like to address the dearth of GLBT characters in fantasy novels. I’ve just read a slew of these, and recently finished one of my own (Princess Ben, coming out in the spring of 2008), and I’ve been scratching my head over this omission, with no clear ideas how to address it, because I do feel that these folks are part of life, even in fictitious worlds peopled by sword-wielding princesses.